Google Pulls Widely-Criticized Ad That Features NJ Olympian

DUNELLEN, NJ — Central Jersey's own Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone begins another run for Olympic gold this weekend in her signature race, the 400-meter hurdles. But a Google advertisement featuring the already two-time gold medalist didn't clear the hurdles of public opinion, and a spokesperson said the company will "phase the ad out of our Olympics rotation."

McLaughlin-Levrone, 24, was born in New Brunswick and grew up in Dunellen. She graduated from Union Catholic Regional High School in 2017, and that's where she first rose to worldwide fame in sprinting and hurdles.

The ad depicts a father using Google's Gemini AI chatbot to help his young daughter write a letter to McLaughlin-Levrone, who also holds the world record in the 400-meter hurdle event.

"She wants to show Sydney some love and I'm pretty good with words, but this has to be just right," the dad says in the ad.

The AI-focused commercial had a strong rating from testing firm System1, but faced wide criticism from various corners of the Internet — with some questioning how a chatbot could compare to an actual, heartfelt message from a child.

Others said they were uncomfortable with the ad's premise — that the girl's father wanted to use a virtual assistant instead of encouraging his daughter to use her own creativity and intelligence to write the letter. Shelly Palmer, a business advisor and Syracuse University professor, said the ad "makes my blood boil."

"While the use of generative AI for this task may appear valuable at first glance, the results lack the emotional depth that comes from personal expression," Palmer wrote on his personal website. "Give me a heartfelt message over a grammatically correct, AI generated message any day."

And, a columnist at the Washington Post said the ad " makes me want to throw a sledgehammer into the television every time I see it.

A Google spokesperson confirmed to Patch on Friday that the ad will lose its spot in their starting lineup, "given the feedback."

"We believe that AI can be a great tool for enhancing human creativity, but can never replace it," the company said in a statement. "Our goal was to create an authentic story celebrating Team USA. It showcases a real-life track enthusiast and her father, and aims to show how the Gemini app can provide a starting point, thought starter, or early draft for someone looking for ideas for their writing."

If you haven't seen the "Dear Sydney" ad, you can still watch it on YouTube— though Google has turned off the comments on the video. McLaughlin-Levrone also shared the ad on her Instagram page last week, and does not appear to have made any public comment on the backlash.

McLaughlin-Levrone won her first two Olympic gold medals at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, a sweet victory after she failed to place in her first Games, 2016 in Rio.

And just a few months ago, she set a new world record in her signature race, while competing at the U.S. Track and Field Olympic team trials.

She was recently named team captain for the U.S. track team, as she looks to make the top of the podium again.

Local fans often gather to watch McLaughlin-Levrone race, and viewing parties are often held in Dunellen, Mountainside and on the Union Catholic campus in Scotch Plains. McLaughlin-Levrone's path to Paris gold will begin on Sunday, in the first round of the women's 400-meter hurdle competition, and she might also run in the 4x400-meter relay.

Here is the full schedule for the women's 400-meter hurdle event; you can watch the races on NBC, Peacock, and nbcolympics.com.

• Round 1 - Sunday, August 4 at 6:35 a.m. Eastern Time
• Semifinals - Tuesday, August 6 at 2:07 p.m. ET
• Finals - Thursday, August 8 at 3:25 p.m. ET

Patch's Carly Baldwin contributed to this report.

Related article — Meet The NJ Athletes Competing In The 2024 Summer Olympics In Paris